The Connection Camp

Sept 30 - Oct 9, 2004

Ray & Jenny's Outdoor Classes

As usual at our Connection Camps, all fires were started with bowdrill kits made by the students.

Knife handle construction

Making a leather pouch sheath

Class projects. Knife handles of local woods, blades sharpened "scarey sharp." Leather sheathes, baskets, bowdrill sets of local woods, discoidal knife flakes and axe. Baskets of walnuts and juniper berries.

Knives

Knives and sheaths

Baskets made of yucca leaves found near camp

Once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your gift that is the connection camp. As an attendee at CC1-3 2003, and now this year CC1 2004, I can say that the progress on my outdoor skills and my inner work continue to soar. The fact that I have attended the same class four times has allowed me through your wonderful exercises, projects, lectures and by your very presence in camp, to reflect and to grow in a way that is impossible in any other setting.

The mix of returning students and first time CC'ers I feel enhanced the connection, maximizing the experience for everybody. The care and patience you show towards your students and your enthusiasm for all things connection is an inspiration and allows everybody to progress at a rapid rate.

Learning to make fires with a bowdrill, knife handle and sheath making, profound nature walks, natural resources gathering of materials that are then used to create useful implements or tools, all combine into a learning environment that forever changes the way I view nature and myself, all made more clear through the connection that is everywhere.

With love and gratitude

This year's connection camp was a great success. I had opted for the extended version, being a total of 10 days, rather than one week.

As a returning student from the 2003 camp I was keen to build on the skills I had learned previously. And this is exactly what happened. From Day One I started using a more difficult wood for the bowdrill; new knife sharpening techniques made 2003's method seem dull, and the ideas for weaving baskets had been revised too, allowing me to produce a much better item than last year.

Navigation and connection skills were taught throughout the week, but for me the new project of making a knife with sheath was one of the most rewarding.

As I've come to expect from Ray and Jenny's classes, the whole thing ran very smoothly, contained masses of information, and was loads of fun.

I know you will have both put in many hours of preparation to achieve this level, and I thank you both very much for that. I've had a great week and am looking forward to any classes in 2005!

Ray and Jenny, With much gratitude and respect, I thank you for creating these connection camps. Since attending last year's class my perspective has shifted dramatically. My eyes have opened up to see the power and grace that nature beckons for us all to embrace and uplift our lives.

These last ten days have been absolutely vibrant and packed with practical knowledge and skills. The information received at this class is instantly transferable to guide you as you walk along your path in life.

These classes are intense and Ray and Jenny's passionate teaching keeps you in the moment, invisible barriers in our minds begin to collapse and we start to see our true selves.

Thanks to my classmates. I'm glad we were all able to share this wonderful experience together. I have learned from you all.

I hope Ray and Jenny keep holding these classes, not only because they're a lot of fun, but these classes will build depth of character and we all need to be working on that.

With love and gratitude.

From start to finish the connection camp was a wonderful eye opening experience. Ray and Jenny are experts at revealing a world that most people live their entire lives and never get a glimpse. They teach in a manner that is based on their own life experience and this makes everything come alive.

From before dawn to late into the night, I was continually presented with unique opportunities to learn primitive skills and so much more about the world around and within me. This cannot be gotten from a book or tape.

This is the most character building experience of my life.

Ray and Jenny, Thanks for the most amazing time. The days here were just wonderful and passed all too quickly.

I have learned much more than I ever thought I would and your generosity in sharing your knowledge with us was truly remarkable.

Again, thanks for the great time and the amazing things I learned in the Connection Camp.

I feel most alive in the outdoors. Ray promises to take that vitality to even greater heights, if you choose to go.

Ray and Jenny have immersed themselves in nature more than anyone I know. They teach from experience, and with love. To learn, find a great teacher.

The week and all its activities, was an outstanding experience. More importantly, Ray and Jenny teach how we can create the same vitality for the rest of our lives.

It was a personal challenge, and as you promised, the connection camp really increased my appreciation of the outdoors. The most valuable thing I learned was the power of focus. Thank you so much.

This was my first connection camp. I was already an experienced backpacker, but the amount of new skills I gained in just the first couple days blew my mind.

More significant was the mental shift: the connection camp has opened me up to a profoundly deeper experience of nature at many different levels. I have a new confidence in my ability to sense and move through the woods, to tap into nature for guidance, and a clarity of vision for my life that only can come from a deep part of myself.

I don't think I have ever spent so many days absolutely focused on mindfulness. I sat in relaxed concentration, working on our projects for hours on end. It was a wonderful shift from the buzz of city life with all of its distractions and demands for your attention.

My backpacking will never be the same again. I don't think my life will, either.

This year's Connection Camp was the best ever, by far. The students were eager to learn, and we had a lot to teach.

Typically we started our days before sunrise, with a 3 to 5 hour Connection hike. Returning to camp we spent the afternoons working on projects. After preparing dinner on individual cook fires, we focused on lectures and practice sessions that ran far into the nights.

As usual, I would like to thank Jenny for her tireless background work, attending to endless details that helped ensure the class ran smoothly. And for giving occasional lectures and leading practice sessions herself. And of course I would like to thank the students who gave the class their all.

These 10 days were a lot of fun, and already we are looking forward to the next Connection Camp.